The present invention relates generally to railway trucks and, more particularly, to a sideframe for use in such truck adapted to receive a plate to hold the diagonal braces.
The so-called three piece railway truck comprising two parallel sideframes with a bolster extended therebetween is well-known. Such truck is utilized in the vast majority of freight car service. Each sideframe usually is comprised of a single cast steel piece having a top compression member, a lower tension member with end pedestals adapted to receive wheel axles which extend transversely between the parallel spaced sideframes. Fabricated sideframes are also known. Vertical internal support columns in each sideframe form a bolster opening. The bolster is usually a cast steel section extending into the sideframe bolster openings and transversely between the spaced parallel sideframes. Each end of the bolster rests on a spring group, the bottom of which rests on the lower tension member of each sideframe. Wedge shaped friction shoes act between the bolster ends and sideframe to dampen oscillation therebetween.
Such three piece railway trucks are well-known for their strength, durability and ability to support great vertical truck loads. However, a weakness of such railway trucks is their inability to restrain themselves from lozenging which is a situation wherein both sideframes remain parallel to each other but one moves slightly ahead of the other. In such a situation the bolster does not remain perpendicular to each sideframe. Such lozenging of the railway truck usually results in truck hunting wherein such displacements can occur in an oscillatory fashion which can be worsened by the resulting contact between wheel flanges and the rails.
One method of attenuating such lozenging is to provide diagonal braces for the railway truck. U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,544 discloses one method for providing diagonal braces to a three-piece railway truck. However, the method shown in such patent relies on a resilient member to connect the diagonal braces to each sideframe. Further, such patent does not disclose details of the bracket connection depending from each sideframe.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an economical means for the diagonally braced railway truck wherein the diagonal or cross braces are solidly and accurately connected to each sideframe.